Review: Asus Chromebook CM14

With most of the attention in the Chromebook space going to Google’s Chromebook Plus, which has strict hardware requirements and price caps, it can be easy to forget there are still super cheap Chromebooks out there. That’s the focus for the Asus Chromebook CM14 (no “Plus” here), which aims to offer a basic computing experience at a shockingly affordable price of $299.

It mostly meets expectations at this price, but frequent sales on more powerful laptops make it worth considering others before buying.

A Gray Affair

The Chromebook CM14 is a relatively nondescript dark gray laptop, save for the poppy Chromebook and Asus logos on the lid. It’s an entirely plastic affair, but it feels surprisingly sturdy despite a bit of wobble in the lid when you carry it around closed. Still, it’s a relatively handsome look, and the plastic doesn’t feel as cheap as you might expect from such a budget laptop.

Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster

Inside, it's powered by a MediaTek Kompanio 520 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage. The RAM and storage are as barebones as possible, and Mediatek makes chips that are more commonly found in smartphones. These are compromises that keep the cost down, but they also keep the Chromebook CM14 from putting out the same performance you’d expect from some of the best Chromebooks out there.

This is a laptop you’ll only want to use if you need something for basic web browsing and document work. During testing, I encountered noticeable lag while opening more than a handful of websites or attempting to multitask with a few apps. When streaming YouTube videos, anything above 1080p quality would cause the video to occasionally buffer and hitch during playback.

I typically recommend you go for at least 8 GB of RAM on Chromebooks because it gives you more breathing room for multitasking, but you’ll have to step up to more costly Chromebook Plus laptops to get that. Still, when I was focused on one task with a tab or three open in Chrome, it wasn’t irritating to use. Keep your expectations in line and you should get by just fine.

Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster

The good news is that the keyboard and trackpad are pretty good here. The Chromebook CM14 offers a comfortable typing experience, and the trackpad is spacious, though the material Asus uses has a little more drag than I’d like. They’re backed up by a solid base to the laptop without any flex during normal use.

You get a full 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution on the 14-inch screen, though Asus has display scaling set out of the box so it looks more like a 1,536 x 864-pixel screen. You can adjust the scaling back down to native resolution and it looks suitably crisp. However, I can’t say the same about the washed-out colors, dim max brightness, and poor viewing angles of the TN display.

Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster

If there’s one superpower the MediaTek platform brings to the CM14, it’s efficiency. I was impressed with the battery life I could eke out of this laptop, clocking in around 10 to 11 hours of mixed use throughout a normal workday. Asus claims you can get up to 15 hours of battery life, so you may be able to squeeze out even more depending on how you use it.

The webcam isn’t anything special, giving you a 720p shooter that looks OK on video calls. You get a physical switch to block it for extra privacy, which is a nice touch. Ports are also relatively good for the price. There are two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and one microSD card slot. The microSD slot is handy if you want extra storage, as the 64 GB of built-in storage is sure to become restrictive.

Hunt for Sales

So should you buy the Asus Chromebook CM14? Maybe. When you dip into the budget range, there are always trade-offs, and they’re evident in the poor display and performance struggles. However, bright spots like great battery life, a solid build, and a good keyboard make the CM14 a Chromebook worth considering if you can get by with the most basic of basics.

What makes this a tough decision is the aggressive pricing I’ve seen on more capable Chromebook Plus laptops, which start at $399 but are frequently on sale for much less. At the Chromebook CM14’s full $299 price, it’s worth considering whether you can pick up a more powerful option, like the Acer Chromebook Plus 514, by spending a little extra when it’s on sale. That said, I’ve seen the CM14 dip to $180 when it’s on sale, and it’s absolutely a great buy at that price.